


Carve a Little Space for You

by cleanlittlesecret



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Childhood Trauma, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 14:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16019846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cleanlittlesecret/pseuds/cleanlittlesecret
Summary: First, he is at home; second, he’s had a nightmare; third, Takeru is here.





	Carve a Little Space for You

Cries in his voice, pain in his chest, sweat on his skin—something grabbed and shook him.

“ _Yuusaku!_ ”

Jerking free, he lifted himself onto one elbow as his eyes snapped open. Someone— _Takeru_ —leaned over him in the darkness—he was in his bed, he had been sleeping, he’d had a dream. _Just a bad dream._ Yuusaku pressed a fist to his chest like that could slow the pounding as gasps tore his throat.

“Calm down, Yuusaku. We’re in your apartment, and nothing has happened.” Takeru reached for his shoulder. “You’re safe here—”

Yuusaku smacked the hand away, raw nerves crackling, but when Takeru stepped back, his throat constricted further, and he kicked off his blanket to lurch from the bed. He needed to escape, to _hide_ , so he stumbled around Takeru’s pallet to the VR room hidden beside the stairs.

After the door closed, Yuusaku leaned against the back wall and slid to the floor. Sweat ran into his eyes and dripped from his jaw, but the crying in his chest drowned it out. The close press of the walls echoed his dream, but he knew this place—he had control here, and he could leave at any time. Pulling himself together breath by breath, Yuusaku slowed his pulse to a livable beat as he forced himself to think. First, he was at home; second, he’d had a nightmare; third, Takeru was here. _Think._

Muffled voices—Roboppi and Takeru’s—slipped inside, and Yuusaku pushed himself to his feet. The door opened to reveal Takeru kneeling beside the pallet to say to the cleaning robot, “I think he just—”

Roboppi spotted Yuusaku holding onto the doorframe and rolled towards him. “Hello, Master! How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” he rasped, and Roboppi’s face flicked into a cutesy grin.

“That’s great! Can I do anything for you?”

“No.”

“Okay, then I’ll see you in the morning. Good night!” Roboppi zoomed under the desk to her charging base, and Yuusaku took a shuddering breath and looked at Takeru.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Takeru stood and clasped his hands behind his back. “I think you need to rest. Don’t push yourself too much.”

Yuusaku sat on the bed and wiped his face with his sleeve to hide his eyes. How could he still be having nightmares? He’d gotten his revenge, the Lost Incident had ended, and Takeru seemed to have already recovered, so why couldn’t he get over it? Why did he still feel like he was buried alive?

“Did you dream about what happened ten years ago?” Takeru said, and he nodded. “Frustrating, isn’t it? I used to wish all the time that I could just forget it already.” The bed dipped beside him, and Yuusaku lowered his sleeve. Takeru didn’t have on his glasses, so his eyes seemed close when he gave Yuusaku a little smile. “You were still hurting, but you fought the people who did that to us. You really are a hero.”

He didn’t feel like a hero. He felt bitter and weak, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to move on. Yuusaku looked away, but when something brushed between his shoulder blades, he leaned closer, and Takeru’s hand rose to play with the locks of hair against the back of his neck. He relaxed under the gentle touches, and as his eyes grew heavy, he said, “We need to get back to sleep.”

Takeru hummed.

“You can sleep in the bed with me.”

The playing stopped. “I don’t—”

“You won’t bother me.” They’d had a similar conversation earlier, and this time felt close to begging, but Yuusaku didn’t care. Takeru lowered his hand.

“All right.” Takeru left his side to grab the bunched-up jacket serving as a makeshift pillow on the pallet, and Yuusaku felt the absence like a draft. He moved to make space for Takeru and spread the blanket, and when they were lying still together, Yuusaku looked through the nearest window.

The street was dark and quiet, the same way it had been every sleepless night he’d spent staring outside, but when he rolled over, his knees bumped into Takeru’s, and Yuusaku tensed. It still felt dangerous to be so close to someone, to rely on another person to be there for him, but he was learning, and Takeru’s heavy-lidded gaze melted the strain from his body. Yuusaku moved closer until he felt secure enough to close his eyes. He wasn’t locked up or alone. Takeru was here.


End file.
